Swat Kats: Cold War
by Station Square Guardian
Summary: This here is my version of the unfinished episode of the series. Just to give you a small preview of it, you're going to see Rex Shard's revenge against the Swat Kats, and some other persons. Enjoy it.
1. An escaped convict

Well, before I star with this story, I have to thank my good friend Ulyferal, for helping me with this story… Without her, I think this story would never be written, so half of the crediut for the writing of this story is for her. If anyone needs someone to give a little help with some story of the Swat Kats that you're writing, talk with her… I think that she'll be very happy to help you. Anyway, let's get down to business, shall we… It's time for us to rock and roll, Megakat City style!

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SWAT Kats: Cold War

Chapter 1: An escaped convict

It was a dark and rainy Friday night, a night so dark and so rainy that the inhabitants of MegaKat City thought that they'd never seen a worse night. But that didn't stop Commander Ulysses Feral and his niece, Lt. Felina Feral from flying into Alkatraz Prison Island on a very important mission.

It had been a rough week with the attack of Dr. Viper's mutated slime that made insects grow until they were the size of ten story buildings. Fortunately, the Swat Kats helped the Enforcers defeat him, although he did manage to escape in the confusion. That lousy psycho would never let anyone capture him and that just made Commander Feral feel angrier with himself. It annoyed him that his Enforcers were never able to stop the most vicious criminals in the city without the help of the Swat Kats (whom he disliked with a passion).

As for Lt. Feral, the vigilante duo had saved her life a couple of times so she didn't mind sharing the sky with T-Bone and Razor.

Finally, through the torrential rains, they spot Alkatraz Island, which looked like a huge dark spot in the sea. The waves battered and foamed against the sea wall. The island was considered by many, especially the Enforcers, as the perfect prison. There was no chance of any convicts escaping, but that changed when Mac and Molly Mange, a.k.a. The Metallikats, managed to get away, although they did die trying it, only their minds had survived the attempt.

The wind was blowing hard causing Felina some difficulties in landing the chopper, but after a short struggle, she finally managed to land. As they got out of the chopper, the warden was on the landing platform waiting for them. His name was William Jagster. He was in his fifties, with grey fur, almost no hair, a little chubby and his orange eyes looked like pieces of amber. He was dressed in a black suit and carried an umbrella to protect him from the rain.

"Commander Feral...Lieutenant...I've been expecting you, but I have to say, I didn't expect you to try and face a storm like this one just to make an inspection of our facilities…that certainly took a lot of courage," - Jagster said while he conducted them to a door that led inside.

"A storm is nothing compared to what we face in MegaKat City everyday of the week, Warden Jagster." - Feral dismissed the concern while he covered his face with his arms to keep the rain off.

"Actually, Warden Jagster, we're not here to inspect the facilities. We're here to talk with one of your prisoners." - Felina informed him as they entered the building.

The entry room was quite small and had only a few pieces of furniture, a table with a small television, that was off and two chairs. There was very little illumination because the lamp that provided light was quite old and didn't have enough power to illuminate the entire room, still, there was enough light for them to see each other.

Feral took off his coat and put it on one of the chairs to dry, while his niece took off her helmet revealing that her beautiful and silky black hair was still dry.

"Oh well then...which prisoner do you wish to speak with...perhaps Turmoil?... She's been giving us a few problems. She's tried to escape at least two times this month. We had to put her in a special cell in order to prevent her from trying again." - He said shaking his head in annoyance.

"No, warden, we're here to talk to Rex Shard." - Lt. Feral told him firmly.

"R-R-Rex Shard?! But why do you wish to speak with him?" - The warden stuttered in surprise.

"We have an important message for him from Deputy Mayor Briggs. Could you show us where he is? We were hoping to take care of this as quickly as possible." - Commander Feral said gruffly, showing an envelope signed by Deputy Mayor Briggs and addressed to Shard.

"Certainly, follow me, please." - Warden Jagster said still curious.

The corridors were only a little better illuminated than the room they had left, but it was still very dark and spooky. In the cells, the malevolent eyes of the convicts watched carefully as the visitors went pass their cells. Many of the convicts had been arrested personally by Commander Feral and held a personal grudge against him. When they saw him, they started to yell every type of name they could remember to criticize and to insult him, but Feral ignored them.

"Rex Shard gave us a few problems when he was transferred from MegaKat Maximum Security Prison. That was a terrible thing he'd done crystallizing MegaKat Springs, MegaKat Dam and the prison itself. He arrived here in a very unstable mental condition, you know. But after spending the last few months here and receiving therapy, he's become less dangerous, more stable and disciplined. He was making such good progress that we recently transferred him to the minimum security hall. He's become a model prisoner. I do think that the programs we use here at Alkatraz Island are the best at helping criminals face their problems with fitting in with society and to assist them in finding more constructive ways to curb their anger against the system." The warden said proudly.

"Well, he's not going to be happy with our visit because the news we have for him isn't good." - Feral said with a sarcastic smile. "If I were you warden, I'd put him back in the maximum section. You can't trust Rex Shard. If you do, he'll stab you in the back as soon as he can." - He said grimly.

Finally, they arrive at Shard's cell. He was dressed in an orange prison suit and was laying on his bed looking at the ceiling, when he saw he had company. He looked to see who his visitors were, since he never received any visits. He was surprised to see Feral and his niece, along with the prison warden, who was constantly bugging him. He hated him, but he knew that if he acted like he was the warden's pet, he would have more luxuries than the other convicts.

"Well, if it isn't Commander Feral and Lt. Feral… I thought I was never going to see you again? Tell me, do you still remember the way I humiliated you and your men when I transformed into that crystal colossus? I bet that you still hate me for and because those SWAT "Gnats" were the ones who stopped me!" - Shard said, a smile of derision on his face, as he got up from his bed to face them.

"I'm not here to discuss what you did in the past, Shard. In the end I was the one who won, and you were caught. And it doesn't matter to me that I wasn't the one who captured you because the result is the same...you're here." - Feral said flatly. - "Now, I'm here to give you this… it's a letter from the Deputy Mayor to you. I presume that you were expecting its arrival…" - The Commander held up the letter.

Shard snatched it from the Commander's paw and opened it. Shard had been expecting it for almost a month. But when he finished reading it, he ripped it into pieces and said:

"What does this mean?!" - He snarled in the Commander's face.

"It means, Shard, that Mayor Manx and Deputy Mayor Briggs have denied your parole. And personally, I don't even understand why you had the nerve to request it of them after what you did. You'll never get out of your sentence. You'll spend the rest of your nine lives here." - Feral said coldly.

"They can't do this to me! What about my good behaviour... all the things I've accomplished through the prison programs?...I've been a good kat since I was transferred here!" - He snarled in fury.

"Shard… that's not good enough to gain you forgiveness from the Mayor and the Deputy Mayor for what you've done. Let me refresh your memory, you tried to kill them, the guards, the warden, who ended up dying anyway when his crystalline body was broken, not to mention the havoc you caused when you destroyed MegaKat Maximum Security Prison, and tried to crystallize MegaKat City. Those things you say you've accomplished in this place are nothing compared to the toll of damages your rampage caused." - Felina answered before her uncle could. Although she only graduated from the Enforcer Academy after that incident, she knew what had happened.

"Don't you give me that crap, Lieutenant Feral! You can't possibly know what I felt when I was transformed into that crystal maniac. I lost control over my body! If it wasn't for those Swat "Gnats", I would have destroyed MegaKat City. I wasn't responsible! Who do they think they are to deny me my only chance to get out of here and show katkind that I'm a changed kat?" - Shard pleaded; trying to convince her he was sincere, hoping she would feel sorry for him and his situation.

"Don't try to influence my niece, Shard. I've seen your psychological tests and they show you were quite lucid when you were transformed so stop wasting everyone's time by trying to get us to sympathize with you and convince us that you are a good kat now and that you're sorry for what you've done. You're a career criminal ...your kind never change." - Feral snapped angrily.

"I'll show you… I'll have my revenge... I'm going to kill you two... Kill Mayor Manx and Deputy Mayor Briggs for denying my parole and then I'll destroy those Swat Kats!" - Shard threatened them hotly.

He slammed himself against the cell door and was surprised when it fell forward knocking the warden, Feral and Felina to the ground under it. Only stunned a moment, he leaped over them and went running like a wild animal through the corridor for the outside.

Feral shoved the door off them. The warden activated the prison alarm to warn the guards that there was a convict on the loose while both Commander and Lt. Feral pulled out their guns and started to pursue Rex Shard.

Shard mowed down anyone who got in his way and not even the shots fired from the Enforcers weapons slowed him down. No one seemed able to nail him. He knew the door to the guards' house was always unlocked, so he knew that if there was a way to get out of here that was the way.

He reached the guard house door, knocking the guard there hard to the ground. He ran in the pouring rain to the closest cliff. He might lose his life doing this, but he was not going back into his cell... ever. He preferred dying than spending his nine lives in jail. When he got near the cliff, however, he began to have second thoughts about that idea as he stared down at the churning water and high waves but when he saw the guards and both Enforcers charging toward him with their guns pointing at his head, he knew there wasn't another option. He poised to jump.

"Give up, Shard, you're surrounded… there's no where else to go! It's death that way!" - Feral shouted over the raging sound of the sea and rain.

"Never! I'm not going back to the slammer, Commander. I prefer to take my chances and jump into the water. Just remember, that if I survive, you'll hear about me again, and sooner than you think!" - Shard yelled as he jumped into the cold icy water of MegaKat Bay.

The waves and pouring rain didn't allow anyone to see where he had landed. Both Feral and his niece tried to see anything on the rocks or floating in the water, but visibility was impossible. They really didn't think he'd survived the drop though because of the pointy rocks and the intensely cold water.

Feral and Felina walked back into the building. The warden was waiting just inside the door. "Where is Shard, Commander?" - He asked anxiously.

"He jumped! There's no way to tell if he's dead on the rocks or in the water. It's just too dark and rainy to see. We'll have to wait till dawn to check." - Feral growled angrily. - "That's why you can never trust a convict like Shard, Warden Jagster. If he sees a way to get out of the slammer, he will try anything to accomplish it. Now because of your incompetence, my Enforcers and I will have to clean up your mess, and make sure that Rex Shard is dead." He snapped at the kat. He turned away from the now shaking tom and looked at his niece.

"Felina, give me your radio and follow me, we've got work to do!" - Feral barked as he went back outside and headed for their chopper.

"This is Feral, bring me chopper back up, and tell all Enforcers that the licenses have been cancelled, and that they have to report into HQ in 30 minutes tops! No one is going to sleep tonight, until we find Rex Shard's dead body! Over and out!"

"This is Feral, have a squadron of choppers put on standby. As soon as its dawn, I want the area around the south side of Alkatraz Prison searched thoroughly for the escaped prisoner, Rex Shard! Do you copy?!" - Feral shouted. Seconds later he received an acknowledgment. He and Felina climbed aboard and he gave her the signal to take off as he put on his helmet. He clicked his com on and gave her an order, "Take us back to Enforcer Headquarters."

"Yes, uncle!" - She answered briskly taking the chopper into the dark, wet sky.


	2. A new weapon and a visit

Chapter 2: A New Weapon and A Visit 

When dawn rose the next morning, it had stopped raining and the Enforcers began their search near the prison spreading out into the bay trying to find Shard's body. They searched for hours without success. 

Meanwhile, at Megakat City Salvage Yard, Jake and Chance were opening their garage. Although it was Saturday, they needed to stay open. Unless they won the lottery, they would never get the money needed to pay Feral for the damage they'd done to Enforcer Headquarters a couple of years ago.

It wouldn't be so tough making the payments if they were able to just concentrate on running the garage but whenever trouble hit the city they were off as the SWAT Kats. It left them struggling to make ends meet but they wouldn't have it any other way.

"Well, what do we have to do today, buddy?" - Chance asked as he ate a second bowl of his favorite cereal, Scaredy-Cat Oo's.

"Let me see, we've got to repair the engine for that nice old she-kat we're always towing whenever her car battery is low and after lunch, Burke and Murray are delivering a load in front of our garage, as usual...but this time I have a surprise for them. I devised a trap that will make them turn that truck right into the pit where we keep the used car oil. That will teach them a lesson and for all the other things they do to us when they show their ugly faces around here, Chance. I just have to install it before they arrive." - Jake smirked as he showed Chance the remote control for the new trap.

Chance grinned widely, "Way to go, Jake."

Unfortunately, they heard the sound of a truck parking right in front of the garage door. It was Burke and Murray, arriving early. They heard the truck dump its load in front of the door. The angry pair ran out in time to see Burke and Murray eating two burritos and laughing like two crazy cats, admiring the mess they made. Chance was steaming. He and Jake hated these two clowns almost as much as they hated Feral. The scruffy pair deserved a big kick in the tail but Chance dare not touch them because Burke and Murray would report them to Feral landing them in more trouble than they already had.

"You two really need to get a life. Why do you do this to us constantly? Every time you appear around here, you drop all that junk in front of our door. Why do you do this to us?" - Chance demanded shaking his closed fist at them.

"It's simple, because you two are the junkyard kats, not us. And we're just helping you out with your junkyard duties, eh, eh, eh…" - Burke laughed.

"Besides, you got to clean that up so you can open the garage and earn some money to pay for everything that you owe to Commander Feral, and considering your salaries, you only have a few more million years before you pay every penny for the reconstruction of Enforcer Headquarters or don't you remember that that's the reason why you're here, hotshots?... Sign here, guys…" - Murray smirked and shoved the authorization that allowed them to dump everything there at them for their signature.

"See you around, because without your wings you won't going too far, eh, eh, eh, eh…" - Burke laughed again climbing into the truck with Murray.

While those two drove away, Chance looked at Jake, "Well, Jake you've got plenty of time to set that trap for next time." Jake just snorted and turned to the junk pile.

Jake and Chance started to get all the junk out of their front door grumbling the whole time. It took them more than a couple of hours to do that and the worst part was the load was nothing but trash, things they couldn't use to build new weapons or new gadgets. Obsolete parts for Enforcer choppers, broken engines with useless parts, were some of the things they found while tidying everything up.

When they finally finished, Chance looked at his wristwatch and saw that it was already lunch time. It put them far behind on their work in the garage. The old she-kat's car wouldn't be done until after lunch now. Jake told his partner that he would go buy lunch and a newspaper, so Chance should go rest a bit. Chance perked up at that and went inside to watch Scaredy Kat on TV, his favorite way to relax. He especially loved the eighteen-hour marathons. When Jake got back, he was carrying a large tuna, anchovies and codfish pizza, a pack of milk and the newspaper.

"Did you hear the news, Chance? ...Rex Shard escaped from Alkatraz Prison yesterday around 10 pm during that heavy rainstorm." - Jake said showing the article to Chance.

"How did that happen? I thought that island was the perfect prison... nobodies escaped from there... except for the Metallikats that is but they didn't survive intact?" - Chance asked as Jake put the newspaper on the table so both could read it.

"It says here that while Commander Ulysses Feral and his niece, Lieutenant Felina Feral were there to visit him, Shard had somehow knocked them down and managed to make his way through the prison and escape by jumping off the top of a cliff and is presumed dead. The Enforcers have launched their entire fleet in a search for his body." - Jake read.

"It figures that Feral would let Shard escape; still, it's quite bizarre. If by any chance, Shard is still alive, who knows what he'll try to do. We should be alert for any Enforcer communications that might have something to do with Shard, buddy." - Chance said in concern as he grabbed a slice of pizza and gave it a huge bite.

"You're probably right, Chance, but what could he do… He doesn't have any powers, not anymore. Unless another model of the "GemKat 5000" hits him again and I don't think that's going to happen, since Dr. Greenbox destroyed the only prototype after that incident. Oh well, let's not talk about it anymore...I'm starved." - Jake said grabbing a piece for himself and stuffing it in his mouth. 

After lunch, they started work on the old she-kat's car and found the problem was the ignition wires weren't well connected. Jake took care of that while Chance checked for any other anomalies in the exhaustion system. Once the repairs on the car were done, they phoned its owner and told her she could pick it up.

By late afternoon it was quiet at the garage so Jake told Chance he had something to show him in the hangar. They closed the garage and went down the hatch and began walking toward a work bench. The Turbokat was parked on its pad as they passed and Chance took a moment to stare at it. He was proud of that jet and of all the things he and Jake had accomplished in it. Jake dragged his attention back to the present by pointing out something on the work bench where Jake worked on their glovetrixs and other assessories. Chance saw something that looked like an ordinary pair of gloves, but when he got closer he saw that this pair of gloves had tiny wires attached to it.

"Chance, I have the honor to present to you my latest invention, the "Infernal Gloves"… As you can see, these have tiny wires attached to them. These wires generate enough heat to melt down a block of ice in seconds. The gloves are still a prototype, just like the full body suits that I'm working on right now. They're based on my concepts from a project the Enforcers had when we were still on the force. When these are ready, they will be very useful in fights with most anything that we need to melt or burn our way through." - Jake explained proudly.

"Can it melt metal too, buddy?" - Chance asked studying the strange gloves.

"I haven't tested that yet, Chance… in theory it should...but until I test it I can't be sure it wouldn't just melt the glove instead...I do think that...wait...I think someone's at the garage. We'd better see who's up there!" - Jake said tossing the glove down and racing for the ladder leading upstairs. 

"If it's Burke and Murray again, I swear I'll kick their tails this time, Jake. I don't care if they report it to Feral. They're going to get what they deserve…" - Chance grumbled as they popped up through the hatch into the garage.

They opened the garage door and saw a green car. Standing there wearing a pink matching jacket and skirt, a pair of sunglasses and a purse was Deputy Mayor Calico Briggs, Callie to her friends. She had a nice smile and brilliant green eyes. Jake and Chance had met Callie the first time she'd brought her car in for them to fix. They'd been friends ever since although Callie was unaware that she knew them as the SWAT Kats as well and had been saved by them countless times.

"Hello guys, I was afraid you were closed." - Callie said smiling and giving a huge hug to both of them.

"No, we were just trying to relax for a bit. We had a rough morning, and we decided to close for a few hours to get some sleep." - Jake said quickly, inventing an excuse.

"Tell me about it… I had a few problems of my own this morning starting with Mayor Manx ordering me to do the invitations for tonight's gala at the MegaKat Tower Penthouse and I still haven't finished." 

"What gala are you talking about, Callie?" - Chance asked.

"Oh its something Mayor Manx has been planning for almost two months. It's to pay homage to the scientists who have developed new ways to stop global warming. The press has been talking about it the entire month. Some of the most brilliant scientists of MegaKat City are going to be there with some of their inventions. Two of them are Dr. Greenbox and Professor Hackle. The exposition for the prototypes of these inventions are going to be displayed for the public at the Megakat Observatory next week. Before it's opening, the Mayor thought that it would be a great idea to organize a gala so he could show people that he cares about our planet and it gives his image as Mayor a lift as well." - Callie explained.

"If you're so busy, how come you stopped by? Is your car giving you problems?...It's not that we don't enjoy your company, but..." - Chance asked.

"Oh no my cars fine. I'm here to give you two this…" - Callie held out two envelopes. "These are invitations for the gala tonight and the opening day of the exposition in MegaKat City Observatory next week. I know how much you like those high-tech gadgets and so I wanted to make sure you got a chance to go." She smiled warmly as she handed them to Chance.

Chance stared down at the invitations in his paw. They were on blue paper with a drawing of MegaKat City's Observatory, surrounded by stars with the words "VIP invitation" embossed on them. Jake and Chance were thrilled by the gift.

"This is great! Thanks for thinking of us, Callie. We really appreciate your thoughtfulness." - Chance said happily. Jake was grinning for joy as well.

"You're welcome. Believe me it's nothing. You've fixed my car so many times, that I've lost the count. It's the least I could do for you; anyway, what are friends for? Well, I must be going! I still have a ton of paperwork to do before this evening's gala, and I haven't picked up my dress yet. See you later, guys!" - Callie said warmly as she got into her car and drove away.

"Wow! That was really nice of her Jake. I can hardly wait to go." - Chance said turning back into the garage.

"Yeah, it's going to be great. Here Chance let me put these in the desk for safe keeping." - Jake said taking the invitations and storing them away. 

Chance and Jake were glad to have a friend like Callie. When they first began to work at the garage, Callie had tried to get them reinstated in the Enforcers. She did her best to convince Commander Feral that it wasn't their fault but Feral wouldn't budge. Once the Commander made a decision it was nearly impossible to make him change his mind. Still, they appreciated her gesture and her efforts. Since then though, they found they preferred their new life because of the freedom they had now. True, they still had to pay for the damages they inadvertently made to the Enforcers building and it was also true that they were treated like sewer rats by Burke and Murray, but they wouldn't change their current life for any other because now they could fight crime without following orders. They made their own orders as the SWAT Kats and that was good enough for them.

"You know what, Chance? I think the day is looking up. Hopefully, it will be a quiet night and we can enjoy the party. I can hardly wait for tonight." - Jake said grinning from ear to ear as he took two cans of milk out of the fridge and tossed one to Chance.

"Me too. It's going to be great. It's certainly a better end to the day than when it started. If were lucky it will be a terrific night with no problems." Chance said as he downed his milk.


	3. Shard's Plan

Chapter 3: Shard's Plan

Meanwhile, on the other side of town, near the MegaKat City Marina where they found the Red Lynx's plane earlier that year, a cat swam in the cold waters, unseen. It was Rex Shard. He had miraculously survived the leap from the cliff at Alkatraz Island and had swam all night from there trying to keep alive. His burning hatred for Mayor Manx and Deputy Mayor Briggs were all that had kept him from drowning and kept his tired body still going.

He spotted a waste water spill pipe and struggled to climb into it. It smelled like dead fish and worse things but he was far too tired to care. He rested for as long as he dared but knew he needed to get dry quickly before he took ill. Dragging himself to his feet he followed the pipe for about fifteen minutes before coming to a manhole cover. He lifted the cover a little and looked around. He recognized that he was near the port of Megakat City and was very familiar with it.

Smiling grimly he hoisted himself out of the smelly tunnel and slipped between the huge shipping crates to keep himself out of sight. Wouldn't do to be seen now wearing a prison uniform after all his efforts to escape. He moved along among the crates until he spied a port authority guard about his size. Sneaking up behind the kat he knocked him out and stole his uniform. The clothes fit him fairly well except for the shoes being a little tight. At least he was finally warmer. He decided to hold onto his wet prison clothes.

The next thing he needed was food and a place to sleep for a few hours. He wended his way out of the port and to a bus stop. He decided that getting to the city center would help him blend in better and less likely to be recognized. He was fortunate there was some cash in the pockets of the uniform he'd stolen.

On the bus, he drank in the view, remembering all the things he'd missed being in prison. It was great being free. He got off near a busy marketplace. He spotted a newstand and grabbed a paper when the owner wasn't paying attention then ducked around a corner with it. He stepped into a shadowed alley and hid behind a foul smelling dumpster to read the paper in peace. With the odor of nasty things pouring from the dumpster he tried to find anything of interest in the paper. The odor was beginning to make him nauseous when he came across the search by the Enforcers for him.

"Looks like Feral and his niece think I'm dead and are looking for my body in MegaKat Bay... that's perfect...while they're looking for me there I will be here planning my revenge on the Mayor and Deputy Mayor. But how am I going to to get near them without them seeing me?" - He mused thoughtfully while he continued to read the paper.

Suddenly he found something that he liked. In the middle pages, in one of the top columns. One of the most important reporters of the city had written an article about a party planned for that night at the Megakat Towers. The story talked about the scientists and their inventions for curbing global warming being honored at this party. Not far from that article was a hiring request for kats who wanted to earn some money by helping a moving company take the inventions to the Tower.

"That's it! I'll get me a job with this company.. Once I'm inside, I'll slip away from the movers and hide in one of the emergency stairwells and wait for the party to start. I'll jump out of my hideout and I'll shoot those two lousy politicians. With so many famous scientists, plus reporters and journalists there, the chaos after the shooting will be perfect for me to take them all hostage and demand a helicopter to get me out of the Tower and take me where I want to go. It's perfect, but I'll need a disguise and a weapon so that means I need more money than I've got and I think I know where to get some, the easy way." - Shard snickered to himself. He ripped the article and want ad from the paper and stuck it in his pocket then left the alley. 

Shard knew that if there were any place in MegaKat City where he could grab a few bucks, without any kind of trouble it was the "Mayor Manx City Park". The park itself was beautiful with lots of different trees and a statue of Mayor Manx that was inaugurated a year before and, of course, had lots of places for people to walk and run. Older katizens liked to feed the pigeons corn or pass the time talking to each other and enjoying the day. Sometimes you would see an oldster sitting by themselves feeding and talking to the pigeons.

Shard knew that older kats were often so careless they would usually put their purses and wallets on the benches and forgot about it and once again, he was right. An old lady put her purse on the bench, and didn't even notice when Shard sneaked behind and grabbed it. The purse contained more than two hundred dollars, which was more than enough for him to buy a disguise and a weapon for his plan. He also grabbed a leather jacket that belonged to a guy who was at a nearby hot-dog stand buying a chilidog. The jacket made him look even tougher, which was just what he needed to make people not look directly at his face.

He walked the busy street until he saw a shop that sold carnival disguises. The owner was an old black furred kat that used a pair of glasses with thick lens and was dressed in a white shirt and a pair of grey trousers. When Shard entered, he asked,

"How can I help you, sir?"

"I'm going to a costume party and I'm looking for a disguise, but I need something that suits me well, and of course, doesn't attract any kind of attention. I was thinking about dungarees, because… because my wife thinks that I look good in those them. Do you have anything like that?" - Shard asked trying to act harmless and altering his voice a little.

"I think I can help you, sir. I just received a new set of disguises, and I think there's one model that just what you're looking for… Ah, here it is. Tell me, what color would you like, red or blue?" The proprietor asked holding up both outfits.

"I'll take a blue one." Shard said while palming a fake moustache and put it in his pocket.

"You know...your face looks familiar to me…" - The old kat said squinting to see Shard better.

For a second, Shard was afraid that he had been discovered. In his head, ideas started to spin around and around. He knew that if he had been recognized, he would have to dispose of the old man. He faked his death, and now he was going back to the slammer, and this time, not even God himself could save him, from staying behind bars for the rest of his nine lives. He grabbed what looked like a baseball bat with his left hand and was about to lift it, so he could use it against the owner of the shop, when the old man said:

"… Now I remember, you're that guy from TV! The one that hosts that fishing show. I just love it and believe me I watch it everyday."

"Y-Yes, that's me. I thought that you wouldn't recognize me with these clothes that I'm wearing." Shard answered sighing inwardly, grateful for the old kats mistake and putting the bat back down.

"In that case, I'll let you take the costume for free, if you tell me what will be the theme for tonight's show. In yesterday's episode, you said that you were having a surprise for all spectators, and I would like to know what that surprise is…" The old kat asked eagerly. 

"Well… I'm not allowed to tell you this, but since you're such a fan of my show… the surprise is... ah… an episode where I'll be looking for a rare specimen. You'll see what I'm talking about, tonight." Shard said improvising quickly, hoping the old kat bought the lie.

"Oh, yes… Thank you, I will be looking forth to seeing it, tonight." - The old kat said happily as he bagged the costume.

Thanking the store owner, Shard stepped out of the store just as an Enforcer patrol was passing by. He quickly averted his face and prayed they wouldn't stop. They didn't and kept on going but one of the officers swore he recognized the face.

"Hey… I think I saw someone that looked like Rex Shard!" - He said to his partner.

"You must be imagining things. Remember, Shard is dead, and the Commander is still trying to find his body in MegaKat Bay. And let me tell you what's going to happen… He's not going to find him, because Shard's body is in bottom of the sea. Believe me, he's gone for good." - The older enforcer said firmly.

"You're right… But, let's head back there and see if I really saw someone who might have looked like him, just in case." - The younger enforcer requested. 

"Alright, if it will make you feel better." - The older enforcer sighed and made a U-turn and went by the store again.

As the patrol passed by again trying to see the kat the young officer thought he recognized there was no one there. Shard had hurried off as soon as they had gone passed the first time and was blocks away and moving quickly. Once he felt sure he was far enough away, he looked for a place to get changed. Once again, he found an abandoned alley, where he changed to the costume he'd just bought. The costume made him look just like a guy who worked in a moving company, and the moustache he grabbed, turned him almost "invisible" to anyone who might recognize him. 

Satisfied with his new look, he made for the company hiring movers, walked into their business and asked about the job. They spoke to him for a few minutes and hired him on the spot. An hour later he was with a group of others on a loaded moving van parking in front of the imposing Megakat Tower. 

The MegaKat Tower had been recently rebuilt after the attack of Dr. Harley Street and the giant Ci-Kat-A almost a year ago that destroyed the penthouse and broke almost every single window. This had been the second time the building had been trashed by a criminal. The first time had been Dr. Viper. Mayor Manx made sure the Tower was rebuilt with the finest construction materials so that if it was attacked again it would withstand the damage. (At least he hoped it would.) The gardens of the tower were blossoming with many types of flowers and trees, making it look like a small botanical garden.

'In just a few more hours I'll have my revenge…' - Shard thought gleefully as he hauled up one of the inventions by dolly up the entrance stairs through the lobby and to the elevators on his way up to the penthouse.


	4. Preparations, Invitations and Traps

Chapter 4: Preparations, Invitations and Traps.

While Shard prepared himself, Callie Briggs was in her apartment getting ready for the party. She had just finished taking a relaxing shower and was looking at the dress she was going to wear that lay on the bed. The dress was in an old 1920's style. It was an emerald green which matched the colour of her beautiful eyes.

"This is really going to be one of the worst nights of my life. I'm so tired, and yet, I have to attend that party! Why can't Mayor Manx go to it all by himself and leave me to enjoy my life, even if it's only for one single night?" - She asked herself, as she gently picked up the dress.

Once she was dressed, she chose one of the many jewels that she had in her jewel case. She decided to use a small necklace with a beautiful emerald, sculpted in a cat form. And for the final touch, she sprinkled herself with a few drops of her favourite perfume, Goddess of the Night. She grabbed her purse and closed the door of her apartment. The only thing that bothered her was  
the fact that her shoes were very uncomfortable and she knew she would be squirming in pain half way through the party.

"These shoes may look very beautiful and all, but they're certainly the most uncomfortable shoes in Megakat City." - She grumbled to herself while waiting for the elevator.

Moments later she arrived in the parking garage, climbed into her car and drove away to her destination, Megakat Tower. The traffic was very heavy for this hour. Rush hour had been hours ago but it seemed a great many kats were out on the town tonight. All the traffic lights seem to be against her because as soon as she reached one it changed to red immediately. She fumed; everything seemed to conspire to make her late for the party she didn't want to attend. 

Finally, however, she arrived at Megakat Tower. There was a big commotion at its entrance, with photographers and journalists, trying to get an exclusive interview with the distinguished guests of the night's gala event. Among them all was Ann Gora, Kats Eye News top reporter, with her camerakat, Johnny, hovering by her side. Ann was wearing a purple sheath dress with golden stripes, a pair of shoes of the same colour and her hair was in a fancy arrangement. She looked like a princess.  
Johnny was wearing a black tuxedo with a white handkerchief in the pocket of his jacket, but as usual, he was wearing his sunglasses and red cap, which made him rather unusual looking. He didn't care since most people never noticed him, because they were too focused on the camera he carried.

Callie, wait!" Ann called out to the Deputy Mayor. - "Johnny, get your camera and follow me!" - She ordered him.

"Right behind you, Annie!" - Johnny said hustling up along side her. 

Once she caught up to the Deputy Mayor, who was a close friend of hers, Ann asked if she could interview her. Callie couldn't say no to a good friend like Ann, since she had helped her in other situations before. As they moved on into the atrium of the tower, Ann halted Callie saying this was the perfect place for the interview. Callie nodded and waited for Ann to get set up.

"OK, Annie, we're live in...5...4...3...2...1" - Johnny said counting down for Ann to begin.

When she saw the green light on the camera she began, "This is Ann Gora, Kats Eye News, live from the Megakat Tower, where a gala in honor of the many scientists who have devised new ideas and inventions for stopping global warming, is about to take place. We're here with Deputy Mayor Calico Briggs, tell me Ms. Briggs, why did Mayor Manx decide to arrange this gala to  
honor a group of scientists, something he's never done before in his ten terms as Mayor of Megakat City?" - She asked smiling at Callie. 

"Well Ann, Mayor Manx decided to do this event, because as every other leader in the world, he is concerned about the dangers of global warming. He's using the gala to bring to light to the katizens of this city, the threat to our environment and what is being done to solve it. All the scientists being recognized here tonight have all come up with brilliant ideas and inventions to counteract this serious problem. They will be demonstrating tonight how their solutions will save our planet." - Callie explained.

"That's good news, Ms. Briggs. Our audience will be excited, I'm sure, to see what the scientists have come up with. Thank you for your time!" Ann said then turned back to face the camera. "I'll be back when the scientists show off their inventions until then; This is Ann Gora reporting from the Megakat Tower." - She said then signalled Johnny to cut. Smiling, she joined Callie and the two of them moved with the crowd going into the elevators.

Earlier at the Megakat City Salvage Yard...

Jake was ironing their old tuxedos, trying not to burn them. Despite being a genius and one of the world's foremost inventor of weapons and gadgets to fight crime, he was quite the klutz with everyday household tasks.

Chance was attempting to fix his hair in such a way to disguise himself and was uncomfortable with the thought of wearing a tux. His powerful chest would push the suit to its limit.

"Crud, Jake, you know how much I hate to wear those things. I just feel soo stupid in it!" - He groused to his partner finally getting his hair into a style that would keep anyone from easily recognizing him.

"Come on, Chance, it's not that bad. I know you hate to wear it, but it's a small sacrifice to make for a chance to see those inventions tonight. Look on the bright sight; I heard Feral wasn't even invited so we don't have to worry about running into him. You know what? You might want to think of the tuxedo as a classy flight commander's uniform." - Jake smirked trying to get his partner to lighten up as he continued to get the tuxes ironed.

"Hah! No way does it resembles a pilot's fancy flight suit. It's not even close to that flight commander's uniform, that crazy she kat, Turmoil made me wear...not even similar. Anyway, I don't want to think about it anymore. I hope there's something good on TV while I wait to get into that thing." - Chance snorted and flicked the TV on hoping to catch Scaredy Kat.

"I'm almost done. You better get those VIP invitations from the desk. We'll never get in without them." - Jake warned as he finished the pants for Chance's tux and started ironing his own. 

Chance grunted in acknowledgment. Surfing the channels he found that, not only wasn't Scaredy Kat on, but every channel was airing the gala event at Megakat Tower. Sighing in resignation, Chance shut off the TV and went to the desk to get the invitations then took his tux from Jake to put on.

Back in Megakat Tower...

Callie and Ann waited in companionable silence as the elevator made its way up to the penthouse. She hated being in this building, it held too many bad memories for her like when Dr. Viper turned it into a living weed patch and hatching ground for his spore pod and then the transformed Dr. Street brought the alien Ci-Kat-A there for it to build a nest for its many offspring. She shuddered inwardly and wished she never had to be in this building ever again but here she was. She just couldn't shake the feeling things were not going to go well.

Once they arrived at the penthouse, the doors opened and she saw that many of their guests were already present. Among them, of course, was Mayor Manx. He was savouring his first glass of champagne while he talked with Mr. Young and his associates, the owners of Anakata Island.

Scattered throughout the penthouse were the many inventions that were going to be demonstrated. Some of them looked like machines straight out of a science-fiction movie. Moving amongst the guest were numerous waiters with trays of drinks, sushi and many other delectable appetizers.

Ann separated from Callie and circulated the room with Johnny in tow while the Deputy Mayor crossed the room to the Mayor's side. 

"Good evening, Callie. It's nice to see that you have finally arrived." - Mayor Manx said smiling, looking pleased and relaxed.

"Good evening, Mayor. I see that everyone is enjoying themselves and that all the scientists that we invited are here. Perhaps I should see about getting the demonstrations started?" - She asked him questioningly.

"Excellent idea, Callie, I think Dr. Greenbox and Professor Hackle are talking to the two females, I was told want to be the first to demonstrate their invention. They're right over there, next to the table of appetizers." - He told her then returned to his conversation with Mr. Young about the second Manx Golf Tournament that was going to take place in Megakat Springs next weekend. 

Callie walked in the direction of the indicated table, where four of the many scientists that had been invited were talking amongst themselves. She already knew Dr. Greenbox and Professor Hackle, both of them were partly responsible for the creation of some of the biggest menaces that Megakat City had ever seen, namely, the Metallikats and Zed although, to be fair, it wasn't their fault their inventions had become menaces in the first place. Both of them were wearing tuxedos, Dr. Greenbox wore a grey tuxedo, while Hackle's was blue. She didn't know the two females standing with them personally.

Dr. Teazer's fur color was orange, black and white striped and she had long black hair down her back… She was wearing a red dress and a pair of white elbow gloves, with matching high heels. Dr. Bomby was a ginger coloured she-kat with long red hair that reached her shoulders. She was wearing a white satin blouse with matching skirt and blue shoes.

"Good evening, everyone. I see you are having a good time. I hope you don't mind, Dr. Greenbox ...Professor Hackle, but I need to have a word with Dr. Teazer and Dr. Bomby, if you don't mind?" - Callie asked with a pleasant smile on her face.

"Of course, Ms Briggs." - Dr. Greenbox said politely beginning to move away.

"Certainly, Ms Briggs, if you need us, Dr. Greenbox and I will be right over there?" - Professor Hackle said warmly as he limped away to join Greenbox.

"It's a pleasure to meet you both in person. Mayor Manx has informed me you wish to be first to demonstrate your invention. Since all our guests seem to be here, we think its time to start the demonstrations if you're ready?" - She asked them politely. 

"We'd be delighted, Ms. Briggs. It will take about five minutes to warm it up and be ready." - Dr. Bomby said nodding. She and Dr. Teazer went to start up their device.

Soon, the presentation started, with everyone's attention turned to the invention of both she-kat scientists, well, everyone that is with the exception of one person, Rex Shard. Shard was hidden behind a door that gave access to the fire exit and was trying to see how he was going to slip into the party without being noticed.

He still had his costume on that he was beginning to wish he could get rid of, though it made him fit in earlier, now it was a detriment. He needed a change. He solved that problem by waylaying a waiter and switching his clothes with him. He tied the waiter up securely. Carefully easing out of his hiding place he began to circulate with a tray of appetizers making sure to allow kats to serve themselves as he passed.

He studied where the guards were and his targets while waiting for his opportunity to strike. He fingered the knife he'd taken from the catering crew earlier and hidden in his pocket. Keeping a fake smile on his face he continued to circulate.

It wasn't long when everyone's attention was captured toward the first demonstration of the evening. Doctors Teazer and Bomby had invented a laser cannon that could freeze anything. They intended it to be used to refreeze the glaciers to slow down their rapid rate of melting that caused severe flooding of all the coastlines of the world.

"As you can see, ladies and gentlemen and dear colleagues, this laser cannon can freeze water instantly. The effects that this machine will have in the control of the glaciers of our world will be tremendous. Just think of the good we can do by stopping the costly flooding we have now." Dr. Teazer said with enthusiasm.

"So tell us, Dr. Teazer...Dr. Bomby. When will this laser cannon be ready to start freezing the glaciers, and other icy parts of our world that are endangered because of global warming?" Ann Gora asked, making signals to Johnny to take a few close ups with his camera of the prototype.

Well, Ann, a giant version of this prototype is now in development at the Pumadyne Research Centre, and if everything goes as planned, it will be ready to launch by the end of this year." - Dr. Bomby answered.

"Have you made sure your laser will not be a danger if someone is exposed to it by accident? As you well know we've had quite a few 'accidents' from inventions already. I don't care for a repeat!" Mayor Manx asked, a bit uncomfortable with the fact of a giant freezing machine being built that could endanger the city as so many others had.

We understand your concern. We don't know that for sure, but the radiation the laser beam generates is practically harmless. But we are still conducting some studies to determine all the possible dangers in its use." - Dr. Teazer tried to reassure his honor. 

While she was speaking, Shard was moving closer to his goal. His first target had been Mayor Manx but he was too far in front for him to get close enough. Ms. Briggs, however, was observing everything from the edge of the crowd near a wall. He slipped closer and closer until as Dr. Teazer was answering the Mayor he grabbed Ms. Briggs, pulled her sharply to his chest and drew the knife out and to her throat in one swift move.

Everyone froze, a few kats gasped or screamed but no one moved as Shard pulled Ms. Briggs backward slowly until he felt the wall at his back. The guards had moved forward with weapons drawn but had stopped when Shard put the knife to the Deputy Mayor's throat. They lowered their weapons but stayed where they were.

"Okay, listen up! Nobody move or the Deputy Mayor gets a new smile." Shard shouted out. He moved his head closer to Briggs and whispered nastily. "Looks like I'll get to finish what I started some months ago. First, you then that fat Mayor and not even Feral or the SWAT Kats are gonna get you out of this!" He laughed sinisterly in her ear. Callie shuddered in fear.

Raising his head, Shard shouted, "Now, nice and slow, Mayor, come over here to my side. Don't make me wait too long." He snapped at Manx. Manx shook in terror. He wanted to flee as he had always done but couldn't allow Callie to be harmed because of him. Stiffening his jelly spine, he shakily moved slowly to Shard's side. Shard grinned to himself. Once the Mayor was in his paws, he'd kill Briggs and take Manx hostage and use him to get out of here then kill the Mayor. It was a perfect plan.


	5. “It’s time for us to kick some icy tail!

Chapter 5: "It's time for us to kick some icy tail!"

The Mayor made his way to Shard, hoping that nothing bad would happen to him or Ms. Briggs if he did just as he was told. He looked calm, but inside, he was shivering with fear.

'W-What am I doing?! That insane kat is obviously going to kill me and Callie… W-What should I d-d-do?!... Hold on...I just remembered something... after Callie and I were katnaped by Dr. Viper, Dark Kat and the Metallikats, Feral gave me this pocket watch and told me if there was any trouble, I just needed to push the red button on it and he would come to our rescue! I just hope it works like he said it would…' Mayor Manx thought frantically, as he pushed a small red button on his pocket watch.

As soon as Manx was near Shard, the maniac told him to put his hands up, where he could see them and to get on his knees. As the Mayor quickly complied and Shard was assured he wasn't going anywhere, he prepared to cut Callie's throat with the knife. He knew that he didn't have to kill her, he could just take them both as hostages then kill them later, but Manx was more important than Briggs, and besides he wanted to kill her, just for the fun of it. He could still get passage out of here with the one hostage as easily as two, he smirked to himself.

"Well, Briggs, it's time for you to say goodbye to everyone you see in this penthouse, because you're not going to live long enough to see them again!" Shard said evilly.

"I don't think so, you brute!" Callie snarled, as she elbowed him hard in the stomach, forcing him to let go of her. She dropped to her knees near Manx to get out of the line of fire and to prevent Shard from grabbing her again.

With the Mayor and the Deputy Mayor out of danger, the security guards made their move to capture Shard. Unfortunately, as Shard tried to avoid getting shot he lurched into the freezing laser cannon prototype of Dr. Teazer and Dr. Bomby knocking it to the ground. The doctors exclaimed in fear but nothing seemed to happen when the prototype hit the floor until seconds later it began firing its freeze beam on everything in its path. Everyone dived out of the way or dropped to the floor to avoid being hit.

The panic was even greater than when Shard tried to kill the Deputy Mayor, because no one knew what was going to happen next. The runaway laser was rapidly turning the penthouse into a cavern of ice. For many long minutes there were only the sounds of screams and shouts and the humming sound of the laser then suddenly, silence. Everyone went still except for a cry or whimper amongst the shaken kats. Before they could gather their wits about them the laser exploded, spectacularly, sending its pieces everywhere along with a white sparkling viscous substance that managed to hit Shard who was huddling nearby.

The substance was sticky and looked like glue, but it was quite cold and started to attach itself to Shard's body.

"Argh! What is this stuff?! Get it off me, get it off…" Shard screamed as he rose up trying to get the stuff off him. The substance started to cover his body rapidly making him scream with pain. The guards were helpless to help him and watched in horror as Shard's body was completely incased in the nasty stuff. Then there was silence again as Shard fell over and went still.

For long moments nobody moved. Then the guards started to approach the body only to have it rise up suddenly. The guards fell back in horror. The kat that had been Rex Shard was now some kind of viscous creature that had the shape of a kat but was like nothing anyone had ever seen before. It sort of resembled the form Shard had taken when he had turned into a crystal monster but this new form was more demonic and its eyes were a glowing red, his mouth was filled with razor sharp teeth, its back had a line of icy-looking spikes, and his claws were long, deadly talons.

Inside his new form, Rex Shard looked down at himself then at everyone staring at him. He could smell their fear and see it in their eyes as they looked at him.

"What have you done to me?!" He thundered, his voice sounding cavernous. Then he saw his reflection in one of the mirrored walls and screamed, "You'll pay for this! I'll kill you all!!"

"Easy, Shard!" Dr. Greenbox said trying to soothe the frightened criminal. "We can turn you back to normal, but you have to calm down first." He coaxed in a calm voice, even though he was shaking with fear inside.

"Don't give me that talk, Greenbox!" He yelled at him, as he unexpectedly fired what looked like a beam of light at the doctor.

Greenbox wisely dropped to the floor, avoiding the beam that turned the floor into a sheet of ice. Shard found out that he now had ice powers, similar to the ones that he had when he was made out of crystal, but these were probably stronger than the previous ones.

"On second thought, I'm going to freeze you all, and then I'll freeze this puny city, beginning with this puny tower, hah, hah, hah, hah, hah!!!!" He laughed maniacally, as he started to freeze everyone he saw in front of him. Kats ran screaming hysterically away from this new menace as Shard froze those not fast enough to get away. 

Responding to the Mayor's distress signal, Commander Feral was rushing toward Megakat Tower, although he was afraid it would be a false alarm and the Mayor had accidentally set off the signal in his pocket watch but considering this city's history, he'd err on the side of caution. 

His niece, Felina was piloting his chopper as they flew to Megakat Tower. She was the best pilot he had besides himself and the only one next to his Sergeant that he trusted with his life. The night seemed calm, and unlike the previous one, the sky was clear and the Moon could be seen easily. There was no wind. The perfect night for flying.

"What's your guess on the emergency, Uncle?" Felina had asked when they took off from Enforcer Headquarters.

"The Mayor could have set off the alarm accidentally but with a room full of scientists and their inventions just about anything could have happened. That seems to be the norm in this city. There is just no such thing as a benign invention. Someone is always turning it into a weapon of mass destruction." Feral sighed in disgust. "If they weren't needed so much for the benefit of katkind, I'd be tempted to lock up every one of those crazy inventors or kick them permanently out of town."

As the Commander and his niece flew to the scene, things weren't going well in the Tower. While Shard may have caught many of the guests and froze them, he missed some of the scientists, Manx, Briggs, Ann Gora and Johnny as they had managed to escape through the very fire door he had hidden behind earlier that evening.

As Shard continued to freeze the entire penthouse his icy beam had frozen the floor and it raced down the stairs turning them treacherous and slippery. At least ten floors were now an icy paradise. The escapees found their way difficult and dangerous as they tried to navigate stairs that were a slippery nightmare. They had managed to go three floors before the ice succeeded in blocking their path by freezing the exit doors solid then making a wall of ice outward from the door to the stairs effectively preventing any further escape.

Things went from bad to worse when the penthouse floor began to cave in and with a horrific groan collapsed, but miraculously it didn't fall into the stairwell. Unfortunately, it did block the way back upstairs so now they were trapped between and freezing. Some kats started to cry and others fainted while still others tried to figure a way out of the situation. It was Ann Gora who had the best way to let others know what was going on. She prepared to make a satellite transmission in an attempt to call for help.

After Johnny checked to ensure he could get a signal out, he nodded to Ann that she could start.

"This is Ann Gora, Kats Eye News, reporting from the interior of the now frozen Megakat Tower. A little while ago, Rex Shard tried to kill Deputy Mayor Calico Briggs and Mayor Manx, in what seemed to be an act of vengeance. However, he was thwarted by a well placed elbow to the gut by Ms.Briggs. Unfortunately, Shard knocked a new prototype laser that uses a freezing beam off its pedestal sending it to the floor. The laser went off and began freezing anything in its path then it exploded spraying parts of itself including some kind of viscous fluid everywhere including Rex Shard. The fluid covered Shard and altered him just like what happened when he turned into a crystal monster only now he can fire a beam that freezes anything it touches. As you can see, I and a group of others that include some of the scientists, Mayor Manx, and Ms. Briggs managed to escape to the fire stairs. However, our escape has been cut off by ice below us and by the partly collapsed penthouse floor above us. We don't know what's happened to Shard but we desperately need assistance. If anyone sees this transmission, we are located about three floors below the penthouse. Please hurry, it's very cold and we are starting to freeze." She said urgently then looked at Johnny who stopped recording and lowered his camera.

"Do you think we reached anyone?" She asked him anxiously.

"Maybe… the satellite connection was not as good as I would have liked, but I think that someone will see it. All we have to do now is wait, Annie." He said trying to be encouraging as he laid his camera gently on the floor.

All of them were starting to feel some cold, because the temperatures had fallen at least twenty degrees in the first ten minutes. Everyone tried to stay calm and huddled together to conserve their body heat since the chances of dying from hypothermia was very high while they waited for rescue.

"We're all doomed! Doomed I say! There's no one who can save us from this situation!" The Mayor wailed as usual falling into one of his typical panic attacks. The rest tried to ignore his hysterics. Ms. Briggs, however, was attempting more constructive means to get them help.

"No one, except the SWAT Kats, at least that's what I hope. Come on, guys, pick up! If there's one time that I really need you, this is the time!" Callie said to herself as she pushed the button of the transmitter and begged silently for T-Bone and Razor to answer her call.

While Callie and the others tried to survive in the icy stairwell, Chance and Jake were already on their way to the party. They were extremely late, however, and fuming to themselves over the reasons for the delay.

The first reason occurred as they were closing up and getting ready to leave the garage. Burke and Murray had arrived with a small load and they were blocking the entrance of the salvage yard with their truck. The pair took their time off loading which made Chance lose his patience, and if it weren't for Jake, Chance would have punched those two, right in the face. When the obnoxious pair left, Chance discovered the car they were going to use had a flat, since they didn't want their tuxes dirty they left the car and took their tow truck instead.

As they made their way to Megakat Tower, they got there fairly quickly because the traffic was light which was the only good luck they'd had, since it was a few miles from the garage to the tower. They decided to park the tow truck a couple of blocks away because it just wouldn't look right getting out of that kind of vehicle in tuxes. 

"I swear! If I had any inkling things were going to go this bad to go to this party I'd have refused the invitations." Chance grumbled shaking them at Jake as they began to get out of the truck for the walk to the tower.

"Yeah I agree with you but, hey, the party has to be better than what we went through to get here." Jake said shrugging his shoulders. 

Suddenly, they saw a fleet of Enforcer choppers passing overhead, heading in the direction of the Megakat Tower.

"Uh Oh, don't look now buddy but I think our troubles have followed us and I don't think it's a coincidence that a fleet of choppers are heading the same way we are." Jake said halting in his tracks in concern.

"You may be right. Maybe we better...Hey, it's Callie calling on the distress frequency" Chance broke off as a red light started to flash right next to the radio.

"Well, obviously she'll know what's going on and I don't think we're going to like it." Jake said as he pushed the button. "Yes Ms. Briggs! What can we do for you? Jake asked her in his Razor voice.

"Razor, we've got big troubles at the tower penthouse. Rex Shard showed up and tried to kill me and the Mayor. I stopped him but he managed to knock an invention to the floor. It's a freeze ray and it froze a lot of things before exploding. Some of the stuff from it coated Shard and transformed him in an ice monster. He's frozen the penthouse and the stairs where I and others are hiding. We're trapped three floors down from the penthouse in the fire stairs and are in danger of freezing to death. The penthouse floor collapsed above us but the stairs prevented it from coming down on us but I don't know how long it will be before the rest of the floors below us will collapse from the weight of the ice. You've got to get us out of here." Callie whispered urgently, keeping herself turned away so no one would know she was talking to them.

"Don't worry, Ms. Briggs. The Enforcers are already heading there and so are we. Just try to keep everyone calm and stay close together to stay warm. We'll get you out as fast we can." Jake promised her then clicked off the signal.

"Looks like Shard wants to rumble again. We've got to go back to the hangar and get the Turbokat, Jake." Chance said anxiously already climbing back into the truck.

"Negative, Chance. There's no time! I'm recalling the Turbokat by remote control, and landing it on the rooftop of the Megakat City History Museum right near us. I always keep a spare set of clothes and glovetrix aboard so let's get over there quick." Jake said getting back into the tow truck. He pressed a hidden panel on the truck dash and tapped in a code on a keypad revealed there. 

Smiling at his partner's ingenuity, Chance started the truck and drove them fast to the museum. "You really think of everything, Jake." He said with relief.

As they approached the museum, Chance saw the Turbokat arrive and land above him. Grinning wolfishly, he parked the truck and they raced to get to the roof and their jet.

"Hurry up, Jake! I think it's time for old T-Bone and Razor to jump into action, and more importantly, it's time for us to kick some icy tail!" He growled as they quickly dressed and got into their seats for takeoff.


	6. Battle in the Skies and the Rescue

Chapter 6: Battle in the skies and the rescue. 

As Razor and T-Bone raced to join the impending battle, the enforcers had already arrived and were trying to decide what to do. They didn't know what to think of the menace they were about to do battle against. Rex Shard had grew until he was big enough to break the ceiling of the penthouse and it looked like he was continuing to grow just as he had when he'd been made of crystal only a lot nastier. 

Shard was having fun shooting huge pieces of sharp pointy ice at the enforcer jets and choppers surrounding, what was left of the penthouse, trying to knock them out of the sky. Under him, more than half the tower was encased in ice and the rest of the building was beginning to frost up the longer Shard was there.

As the Enforcers were trying to decide what to do besides firing lasers that seemed to be having no effect, when Commander Feral and Felina arrived on the scene. They couldn't believe what they were seeing. Feral was astonished with the size of the ice monster towering ahead of him.

"What is that thing, uncle?!" -Felina asked as she kept the chopper out of the ice monsters reach.

"I don't know… but I'm fairly certain that freak of nature was created by another accident with one of those inventions being displayed. However it happened, we've got to incapacitate or destroy that thing." He told his niece. He reached for his radio preparing to take action when he was interrupted by an urgent call from his Sergeant.

"This is Feral! What is it, Sergeant?" -He barked.

"Sir! We've picked up a satellite transmission coming from within Megakat Tower. Apparently, the transmission was from Ann Gora. She sent a message which I think is of vital importance to you." The Sergeant quickly responded. 

"What was the message?" -Feral asked, surprised by this turn of events.

"She said that Rex Shard is alive and tried to kill the Mayor and Deputy Mayor. When the guards intervened an invention was knocked over and fired on Shard. It turned him into some kind of ice monster. Shard began killing the guests. Ann Gora, Mayor Manx, Ms. Briggs and other survivors made it out into a staircase only to have it ice up, collapsing the floors above and below them, trapping them. They are about three floors below the penthouse and are in serious danger of hypothermia." The Sergeant relayed.

"Kat's Alive! Rex Shard again! Thanks for the info, Sergeant, Feral out!" –Feral said grimly then turned to his niece. – "I hate being right. Now we have to get the survivors out before they freeze to death while trying to keep that ice lunatic from killing us." –Feral snarled, trying to come up with a plan. 

"What are we going to do Uncle?" –Felina asked as she made a sudden manoeuvre to avoid another ice missile from Shard. 

"First we've got to see just how insane Shard is then we'll see what we do next. Take us in closer, Felina but be alert." –He ordered.

She carefully took her chopper closer to the now giant form of Rex Shard.

"Shard! This is Feral! You are under arrest. Surrender and we will try to restore you to normal." –Feral said through the loud speaker on the chopper.

Shard laughed manically, "No way Feral! I like all this power. I can freeze this whole pathetic city easily. Let me show you just who you are dealing with... prepare to be destroyed!" –Shard shouted firing ice beams at Feral's chopper and at the surrounding buildings. He missed the chopper but cast a sheet of ice over all the buildings, sidewalks and roads nearby making them a winter wonderland that was slick and dangerous.

"Enforcers, this is Feral! Do not fire! Repeat, do not fire!" –Feral barked into his radio hurriedly. When he'd received acknowledgment from his fleet, he delivered new orders. – "There are survivors' three floors down from the ice creature. I want the jet squadron to distract the creature with laser fire only being careful not to hit the floors below where he's standing. Choppers follow me for a rescue attempt." A quick spate of new acknowledgments occurred and the enforcers took up their positions.

"Attack!" –Feral roared into the radio as Felina moved to get close to the building while the jets began a barrage against Shard.

The enforcer jets began their barrage against Shard. It was disappointing to see their lasers had no effect on Shard and though some of his 'ice skin' would chip off from the ammo it would heal instantly.

As the barrage went on above them, Feral and his choppers tried to get close enough to the tower to try and rescue the survivors but Shard saw them. He had fired huge stalactites at the jets and downed a good many of them. He switched his attention to the choppers and froze their rotors sending them to the ground.

Meanwhile in the frozen staircase where the survivors huddled miserably, the battle above them couldn't be heard but the vibrations from the attack against Shard caused ice to break and begin to rain down in chunks into the staircase. The Mayor cried out in terror and huddled even tighter into the small pocket of safety they had found under two collapsed walls. Callie and the others had been lucky so far avoiding being hurt by the new fall of debris but didn't know how much longer that would last. They were all so frightened that they would never escape. Callie tried to keep everyone calm as the world fell around them.

Outside, Commander Feral and Lt. Feral tried to keep alive. Of all of the choppers that had been with them, only they were left airborne, along with two jets. As Felina tried to stay out of Shard's range, Feral spotted a huge stalactite heading for them but before he could warn her it shattered into pieces before it reached them. Feral hadn't seen what took it out but Felina had. 

"That was a 'Slicer Missile'! That can only mean …" –She began with a relieved grin before her uncle finished her sentence.

"The Swat Kats!" –Feral snapped in annoyance as the Turbokat flew over them.

The Turbokat flew in close, distracting Shard from Feral's chopper. As usual, Razor's shooting was perfect as the life saving shot that saved the Ferals proved. When they moved close to provide a barrier between the chopper and Shard's missiles of ice they saw Feral's face. It was furious at their interference.

The gutsy pair just laughed at the Commander's angry face as Razor picked up his radio, switched to the enforcer frequency and sent a message that had Feral grinding his teeth in fury.

"No need to thank us, Feral! It was our pleasure, but you and your niece should be more careful with this guy. He's not fooling around, you know?" –Razor said.

"Mind your own businesses, you pair of vigilantes! Besides, the Enforcers can handle this, so back off, before I arrest you both!" –Feral said furiously too upset by the loss of his fleet to be sensible. 

"Oh right, Feral… You and what army? In case you haven't notice, almost all of your squadron has been blown out of the sky, and you're saying that you can handle this by yourself?! Just keep him busy enough, so I and my partner can get Ms. Briggs and the others out of there safely, then you can blow him to smithereens if you can." –T-Bone said sarcastically while making a tight turn to avoid one of Shard's projectiles.

Shard saw them, and was amazed that they hadn't appeared earlier. The look on his face told them that he was insanely eager to blast them into next year. He wanted revenge for all the things they had done to him in the past, and it looked like he was going to have his chance.

"Well lookee here... If it isn't the Swat Kats? Well, punks it's about time you showed up now I can do to you what I did to Feral's pathetic fleet. I'm just itching to take you out of the picture... permanently!" –He laughed madly and stretched one of his colossal arms out to try and grab the Turbokat in one of his huge sharp claws. 

"As if, Shard! We already defeated you once, we can do it again! We just need a good sonic boom, and you're out of the game." –T-Bone told Shard over his loudspeaker. Shutting it off he said, "Razor try to find Callie while I try and keep us out of this creeps paws.

Despite his fury at their interference, Feral couldn't stand by while there was any chance to save the Mayor and the others. He had Felina duck and dodge around Shard as he annoyed the giant ice figure with his mostly useless ammo. Shard growled in annoyance and fired at them taking his attention off the SWAT Kats as T-Bone moved the jet several feet away to allow Razor to search.

Razor activated the X-Ray Beam, and started to scan the building, looking for any source of heat, that would indicate their presence. After several tense minutes, Razor found a large knot of heat that could only be the survivors.

"I found them T-Bone" –He said sharply to his partner as he shot his seat back so he could drop into the cargo hold. On his helmet radio he said, "I think its time to see if the 'Inferno Gloves' really work or not."

"But I thought you said they were just a prototype, hotshot…?" –T-Bone said in concern taking the jet into a wide loop around Shard so that the criminal wasn't aware of what they were planning to do.

"The ones I showed you were, but the ones I've got in here aren't. I finished this first pair a few weeks ago, but I've never had a chance to test them yet but we don't have a choice, T-Bone. If these work I'll be able to get Callie and the others out without risking a possible collapse of the infrastructure." –Razor said grimly as he put the gloves on. 

"What's the plan?" –T-Bone asked anxiously watching Felina expertly avoiding yet another attempt by Shard to swat her chopper out of the sky.

"Simple… I'll use my rocket pack to fly to the survivors' location and use the gloves to melt the ice and a path to the downstairs to lead them out. We need to stay in contact so that you'll know where we are before trying to put the screws to Shard." –Razor explained as he put on his rocket pack. "Okay, I'm ready to go. Keep that creep busy. Once I have everyone out, fire a pair of my new and improved banshee missiles at Shard. Hopefully it will take him out or at least, give him a mega headache. Instead of firing sound waves at him, they will produce an enormous amount of noise when they explode in his face." –Razor ordered his partner as he got ready to jump.

"Okay buddy… Just be careful!" T-Bone said worriedly.

Razor jumped from the cargo hold flicking on his rocket pack. As T-Bone began to distract Shard away from the tiny form jetting to the building, Razor made it to the icy wall. He grabbed onto the edge of what used to be a window and almost lost his grip when he shut off his pack. But after regaining his balance, he turned on the gloves and started to melt the ice as if it were butter. Callie and Ann heard something. Since they were on the outside of the group, they moved a little closer to a window covered in a thick layer of ice which began to melt as they watched. Soon they saw a shadow. Moments later the shadow revealed itself to be Razor. Hearing Callie and Ann's cries of joy the rest of the survivors stumbled weakly from their improvised ice cave to greet the SWAT Kat.

"It's about time you got here SWAT Kat!" –Mayor Manx stuttered with cold.

"Sorry we took so long, Mayor, but we had a few problems with Shard up there. But don't you worry; I'm going to take you all out of here, immediately." –Razor assured everyone with a calm and soothing voice.

"But is Shard still up there, Razor?!" –Callie asked in concern.

"Unfortunately yes, but don't worry, Feral and T-Bone are keeping him busy. I think we can destroy him. We plan on using the same trick we did before… a little sound wave in a high frequency, will shatter him into pieces, and believe me, Miss Briggs." –Razor said reassuringly while he turned on the gloves again and started to melt a hole in the ice wall leading downstairs.

"I'm afraid that won't work this time, Razor!" –Dr. Bomby warned him. 

"What! Why not, Doctor?" –Razor said sharply in concern stopping to hear what she had to say.

"My partner and I built the freeze cannon that changed Shard. It is designed to shoot a type of ice that is resistant to every type of sound wave that exists. The device was designed to restore glaciers. Shard now has those same abilities. Sound waves will just ricochet off him causing him no damage." –Dr. Teazer said anxiously.

"Oh no… I told T-Bone to shoot a few Banshee Missiles! If he fires them then we will have a lot of problems." –Razor said in shock. "I've got to warn T-Bone!" –He turned off his gloves then tapped his helmet and tried to raise T-Bone. "T-Bone! Come In!" While he waited for contact to be made he turned the gloves back on and continued to melt the ice creating a small tunnel that would lead him and the survivors to the downstairs floor.

Outside, T-Bone, along with Feral and a few more enforcer choppers that had arrived per Feral's order were trying to attack Shard without damaging the tower, but it was not easy, since Shard continued to fire ice beams at them, and they tried to keep out of range. From all of their air battles, this was definitely one of the most complicated. Fortunately, T-Bone was an experienced pilot and was able to elude Shard making him believe that he was turning one way then faking him out by going the opposite way. Suddenly, his helmet comm. demanded attention. Tapping it on he heard Razor but the connection was not as clear as he'd like.

"What is it, Razor?" –He asked.

"T-Bone… d…zzzfrfgz... shoot the miss…. Zzzfgfgrt, buddy!" –Razor shouted his warning, but unfortunately, there was too much interference and T-Bone couldn't understand it completely but hoped it meant to fire the missiles.

"Got it, buddy… I'll shoot the missiles, right away!" –T-Bone said as he turned off the communicator.

"No, T-Bone! Aw crud … there's too much interference so he can't hear me. Great! I only hope that he's able to get out of the mess he's about to create. Everyone, follow me… help those who can't walk by themselves and we will be out of here in a short time." –Razor sighed and concentrated on getting everyone to safety and hoping T-Bone would be alright.

Meanwhile, T-Bone pressed the launching button and fired three "Banshee Missiles" at Shard; one of them almost caught Feral who was in the way. T-Bone smiled as he saw the missiles going into Shard's face. It was a direct hit, and he knew it. 

"Rock'n roll time, Shard! It's game over for ya!" –He yelled excitedly.

Unfortunately, as Dr. Teazer warned, the missiles didn't affect Shard so when they blasted his face a huge sound wave was released from the missiles and ricochet back at the defenders. It sent the Turbokat and the meagre enforcer fleet tumbling out of control. They quickly regained control before they were smashed into nearby buildings. The Turbokat flamed out for a moment but T-Bone got it restarted.

"Crud! Don't tell me Shard is sound proof now?!" –The tabby tom shouted angrily banging his fist on the yoke. "And worse yet, my communicator is down so I can't contact Razor. Now what do we do?' –He asked himself as he watched Shard snarl at them and fire an endless spray of ice missiles they had to dodge.

"Looks like the Swat Kats have failed spectacularly this time..." Feral grunted both pleased and upset. Despite his feelings, the SWAT Kats failure only meant they still had to find a way to stop Shard. 'Time for something risky.' –He thought reaching for his radio. "Choppers prepare to the use the Heat Cannons. It's time we try to melt that freak!" Feral ordered.

The 'Heat Cannon' was a new prototype cannon that the most recent models of the enforcer choppers had recently been equipped with. It was supposed to concentrate a considerable amount of heat from its reactor and, once fired, shot a stream of heat the same temperature of molten lava. The choppers open fired on Shard. The criminal screamed in pain and shot ice beams at its tormentors to stop the agony.

"You're starting to annoy me! Get out of here!" –Shard yelled at them, as he froze the choppers and their pilots sending them to plunge straight to the street.

Feral and Felina were also hit but Shard was only able to freeze the propeller. Unfortunately, that was enough to make their chopper plunge out of control forcing them to parachute to safely to the frozen ground. On the ground, they could see the ice was spreading like an infection everywhere.

"What are we going to do now, Uncle?" –Felina asked staring up at Shard still standing on top of the tower.

"It's not a total loss, Felina. The "Heat Cannons" did cause Shard pain so they did affect him. We may still be able to defeat him." –Feral said a grim satisfaction on his face as he pulled out his portable radio and put in a call to Headquarters. "Bring me chopper back up and a squadron of tanks. Make sure they are all outfitted with the new heat cannon. Get them here on the double." –He barked before closing the link.

While Feral gave new orders to Headquarters, Razor was quickly managing to get the survivors down and was within a couple of floors from the ground. Meanwhile, T-Bone fired all his ammo at Shard without any results. It was thoroughly frustrating.

Shard finally got tired of the 'flies' annoying him and decided it was time to leave. He gave a huge leap from the top of Megakat Tower into one of the surrounding buildings, turning it into pure ice as he touched it. T-Bone followed him, but Shard was waiting for him, and had a surprise.

"This is the last time you "Swat Gnats" ever bother me again… Take this!" –Shard snarled as he clapped his hands, creating a sound wave that made T-Bone loose control of the jet. As the jet tumbled away, Shard blasted an ice beam toward it, freezing all three engines. Without the engines, the Turbokat continued to spin away out of control eventually losing altitude and hurtling toward the ground some distance away.

"I'll see you in Hell, Swat Kats! Give my regards to the Devil, when you see him…, hahahahahaha!!!" –Shard laughed, as he leaped from building to building, leaving a trail of frozen buildings as he departed the area never looking back to see if the Turbokat crashed or not.


	7. New Facts and a New Plan

Chapter 7: New Facts and a New Plan  
The Turbokat was spinning, plunging toward the asphalt. T-Bone was trying everything he could to put the Turbokat back online, but nothing seemed to work. Pressing every button on the console that was connected to one of the systems for the engines, he hoped to start them again before he crashed into one of the surrounding buildings."Come on baby, you can do it… Come on, just one more time, for old T-Bone! I swear I'll clean you everyday if you start now, please…" T-Bone pleaded.

Just as a building began to loom really close, T-Bone pressed the ignition buttons to all three thrusters at the same time hoping to get at least one of them to turn back on. Miraculously, the middle thruster blasted on with a roar giving him back control just in time.

Unfortunately, with only one of the thrusters, he couldn't chase after Shard, so he landed the jet to check it over. He was so distracted, he didn't notice the ground had iced over. When the Turbokat's wheels touched down, it started to spin around and around. To try and stop the rapidly increasing spin, T-Bone released the parachute in hopes it would be enough to stop it.

The parachute lines wrapped themselves around several street lamps. Acting as a kind of seatbelt, it pulled the jet to a jolting stop. The wild flight, the times his head had been hit plus the fast spin left T-Bone a bit wobbly. He just sat in the cockpit trying to gather his wits. When the scenery stopped moving he quickly saw why the jet had skidded.

He was once more at Megakat Tower parked in front of its doors. Everywhere he looked there was a wonderland of ice over every surface for a complete city block, besides the tower and the path Shard had taken through the city when he'd left the scene. 

"Huh! Shouldn't be too hard to follow that creep!" He muttered to himself.

He popped the canopy and jumped down to the ground, promptly slipped, landing on his butt. Muttering profanities he carefully got up and saw Razor near a melted window with the group of survivors he had rescued. Ambulances were on the scene and were treating them for early hypothermia and checking for injuries. Taking more care, he walked over to his partner.

"So, how are you, buddy?" He asked studying Razor critically for injuries."A little cold, but I'll be fine… What about you, did you manage to avoid Shard when my Banshee Missiles exploded?" Razor asked looking over at the jet and frowning."I thought you told me those new Banshee Missiles would stop him, hotshot? Instead of breaking into tiny pieces, Shard shook it off and shot an ice ray at me. I had complete engine shut down. I managed to get the middle thruster to work and barely got it down when I hit the ice and spun. As you can see the parachute stopped it. So we have some work to do to get her back in the air." He grumbled irritably."Crud, I'm sorry T-Bone. I tried to warn you after I found out they wouldn't work but our radio frequency was full of interference so, unfortunately, you didn't hear me warn you off and not to fire them. According to Drs. Bomby and Teazer, over there, Shard's body is made out of an unbreakable type of ice. If we're going to take him down, we're going to have to find something that is able to penetrate his skin." Razor explained apologetically."Something we may have an answer for!" Came a familiar voice from behind them.

They turned and saw Feral and his niece standing behind them. Feral and Felina had landed by parachute not far away so had walked back to the tower to see if they were needed since they would have to wait for backup to arrive before going after Shard again. They had walked up to the group while they had been talking, staying silent and listening. 

"We have a new heat weapon and we used it on Shard. It didn't do any damage but it did cause him pain which to me means that we did succeed in penetrating his skin." Feral reported.

"That's good news. So Shard felt pain when you hit them with your new Heat Cannons, Commander?" Dr. Teazer asked again to be sure she had the information right.

"Yes, Dr. Teazer… They didn't do what I hoped but it did something at least. I don't know what would have happened if I had had more cannons on hand. Unfortunately, I only had about four of them. Still it's a start knowing the heat caused him pain, it may lead to a way to disable him and return him to normal or take him out completely." Feral said gruffly.

"You are on to something alright, Commander. It's quite possible that a more powerful heat source could stop Shard." Dr. Bombay said thoughtfully."Yes, but what kind of heat source are we talking here, doc?" Razor asked.

"The sun! The molecules in Shard's body are unstable, and although the ice that our laser was supposed to create is powerful enough to not melt or break under sunlight, Shard's body doesn't have those same properties. When the sun rises, its rays will destroy the ice molecules in Shard's body and, theoretically, return his body to normal." Dr. Bombay explained."Unfortunately, Megakat City will be completely frozen by the time the sun rises. The ice is freezing everything, and moving as if it had a will of its own." T-Bone noted pointing to the spreading ice that was moving slowly over everything in sight in an ever widening circle.

"So we have to stop Shard now! Hopefully, the ice will just disappear like the crystal did when we defeated Shard the last time. We need a way to harness the power of the sun even though it's..." Felina checked her watch, "only thirty-four minutes pass midnight." She said grimly.   
"There may be a way to do that," Dr. Bombay said thinking rapidly. "The telescope at the Megakat Planetary Observatory is run by a computer that contains the coordinates of most constellations. The computer accesses a group of satellites circling our world to focus on the set coordinates which find the area of space they want and sends the image back through the telescope so they can be viewed." She explained, pausing to gather her thoughts.

"What we'll need to do is have the satellites trained on the sun and have them focus its energy toward the telescope and use its huge lense as a reflective beam. Just like one uses a magnifying glass to focus light on paper to burn it. It's going to very tricky and we probably will only get one chance at it. 

"You could conceivably fry the telescope or the satellites attempting it." Razor said shaking his head. "But it does sound like the best way to get Shard."

"Sounds like it will take a great deal of coordinating as well." Feral mused. "While whoever is setting up the telescope and aiming it, others will have to get Shard into position for the best target. Both sides will have to keep in constant communication to insure our one shot is successful." 

"Well Dr. Teazer and I are experienced with using the telescope and computer and have access to it so we won't run into interference getting into the observatory. All that's needed is someone who is computer savvy to help subvert the computer to make it direct the satellites the way we want them to then get the telescope to be angled just right to receive the signal and positioned so that the beam will be directed at Shard at the right moment." Dr. Bombay said.

"Well Razor is a sharp shooter and a computer whiz so if anyone can get the telescope to do what you want he's the one." T-Bone said decisively. "That means the rest of us will be going Shard hunting and waiting for you to give us the coordinates where you want us to herd him for the shot." 

"Well that solves that but how are you going to help the enforcers when the jet needs repair?" Razor asked his partner.

"Crud! I'll have to look it over and see if it's something I can fix quickly." T-Bone scowled.

"Perhaps we can help. We both have some mechanical skills." Felina offered, along with her uncle frowned at being volunteered but nodded.

He stared at the pair in surprise. "Well, okay I won't look a gift horse in the mouth." T-Bone agreed reluctantly.

"That solves T-Bone's problem but how do we get to the observatory over these icy streets?" Dr. Bombay asked.

"I have the solution to that," Razor said and walked to the Turbokat and opened the cargo door. Using his glovatrix he signalled something and moments later an odd looking all terrain vehicle rolled out. "This is the Sandkat. I've modified it to handle ice." He said proudly.

Callie recognized it as the same vehicle that had saved her the first time from Shard only now it had wide skis under it.

"Shall we be off ladies?" Razor asked. Handing each she-kat a helmet he climbed on and they squeezed in behind him. Activating the bike, he retracted the wheels causing the bike to settle onto the skis. In moments they were off down the icy street.

Feral, Felina and T-Bone looked the Turbokat over and discovered the ice that that had plugged up the engines had melted. T-Bone gave the engines a test try and they started up fine once more. Felina and Feral cut away the parachute. 

As they were finishing that, the rest of the modified choppers with the new heat cannons showed up. One landed to take Feral and Felina aboard. Before they did, Feral stopped to speak with T-Bone.

"Use frequency 009 so that we can coordinate our attack on Shard." Feral told him gruffly.

"Don't forget we have to wait until Razor tells us where to herd Shard," T-Bone reminded him.

"I haven't forgotten!" Feral snapped irritably. "We need to find him first and try to keep the damage to the city to a minimum."

"Yeah, got it. Be right behind you. Though my weapons can't hurt him they do annoy him so save the heat cannons for the real job of herding him." T-Bone said annoying Feral even more.

Feral snorted, "Making yourself a target, heh? That's fine with me; it's what you're good at." It really grate on him to be working with the SWAT Kats, but they needed them both to bring Shard down.

T-Bone just snarled at him and climbed back aboard his jet as Feral made for the chopper.

Meanwhile, the Mayor and Deputy Mayor were insuring the other survivors were alright. Callie noticed that Ann and her camerakat Johnny were looking up at the sky as if expecting something. Sure enough, moments later a Kats Eye News helicopter, piloted by Al, Ann's faithful pilot, landed carefully on the icy street as the enforcers and the Turbokat left the area. Al was wearing his usual green shirt, and red cap, but around his neck he was wearing a blue and black neckerchief, which protected him from the low temperatures."Thank god, you're just in time, Al." Ann said gratefully as she climbed aboard. "I need you to follow the enforcers. We're going to hunt for Rex Shard. We have to get the exclusive images of the fight against him." She told him."Crud, Annie you want to get near that icy creature again. Nothing personal but last time we got close to that thing he nearly made us crash now you want to put us in the firing line between it and the enforcers?" Al said reluctantly.

"That's what being a top reporter is all about, Al. Being there in the heart of things and reporting it as it happens. Don't you see that this might be the story of the year? Now try to get us as close as you can get, ok?" Ann wheedled."Okay, you're the boss, Ann." Al said in resignation. 

Just as Ann and Johnny got in their seats, the Deputy Mayor popped her head in the open door and yelled, "Ann, I need a ride… I have to see with my own eyes the battle against Shard. Can you take me there?""Sure, Callie… Hop in… What about you Mayor Manx, do you want to come with us?" Ann asked the Mayor who was standing nearby. The rest of the survivors had left with the ambulances."I-I-I think that I should stick around here… You never know how dangerous the battle can be…" Manx said nervously.

Suddenly a huge piece of ice dropped to the ground less than a few feet from where the Mayor was standing. He looked down at the piece in shock and realized it was actually a frozen steel girder from the tower. Afraid more would follow he scrambled to the helicopter.

"On second thought perhaps it would be safer in the air… just get me out of here!" He said frantically as Callie and Ann pulled him into the copter. As soon as his passengers were in their seats and the door closed, Al lifted them away and raced off after the enforcers.


	8. Preparations for the Attack

Chapter 8: Preparations for the attack

Chapter 8: Preparations for the attack

Shard was on a rampage. In less than twenty minutes, he had already destroyed at least ten blocks of apartments, frozen the Megakat River, and was making his way to Pumadyne.

The Enforcers were already on his track, trying to come up with a solution to stop him before he could wreck the entire city. It was just a matter of time before Feral and his niece, along with T-Bone in the Turbokat and the Kats Eye News helicopter, got to the place where Shard was.

When they arrived on scene, Felina positioned the chopper in such a way that Feral could direct his enforcers in the coming action. He pulled the comm. from the dash and contacted the Sergeant who had led the ground forces that had been following Shard when he'd left the Megakat Tower.

"Status report, Sergeant!" He barked into the comm.

"Sir, Shard has destroyed several blocks of apartments, froze Megakat River, and it looks like he's making a direct run to Pumadyne." The Sergeant told his commander.

"If that maniac gets to Pumadyne, he'll destroy millions of dollar worth of equipment!" Feral growled angrily.

"Not to mention, he's in headed the opposite direction from the observatory, Uncle. We've got to turn his icy butt back around and quickly." Felina added. "And, is it my imagination or is he getting bigger?" She asked in concern.

"Kat's Alive! He is. How are we going to convince that icy giant to turn around? We can't just dangle in front of him like we were a fish…" Feral groused bitterly, trying to come up with a plan.

"Maybe we can't entice him enough, but I know someone who can and that Shard would be willing to follow if only to get his icy paws on him." Felina said thoughtfully as she reached activated her helmet radio. "T-Bone, you copy?" She called.

"Loud and clear, Lieutenant. What can I do for you?" Came T-Bone's gruff voice.

"As you can tell, Shard is heading away from where Razor is setting the trap. You think you can coax him to play follow the fishy?" She asked him.

"Yeah, I've already been thinking about that. I have an idea how to get him to come after me… just tell your uncle not to interfere or it'll blow the whole plan… ok?" T-Bone said grimly.

"Roger! Staying out of the way, until you yell for help!" Felina said, smirking a little.

"Oh yeah, really funny… haha. Just watch my afterburners!" He snorted then cut the comm.

T-Bone pushed the throttles to maximum on the Turbokat, building up a fast momentum then moving in tight circles, getting as close he dared to Shard without getting frozen. When he got close enough, he targeted Shard and fired a couple of old fashioned missiles hitting the criminal's back. Of course, it didn't harm the ice Kat but it did get his attention like T-Bone hoped.

"Do you think you can stop me with those pitiful missiles, you miserable insect?!" Shard growled in his new guttural voice that seemed to echo in the night as he glared at the circling jet.

'Of course not, I'm just trying to get your attention, you dumb ice kat.' T-Bone muttered to himself as he shot a few Match-head missiles at Shard's back again, making him turn around.

"Very well, if you want to be the first one to be frozen then I'll be glad to fulfil your wish, Swat Gnat!" Shard rumbled preparing to fire.

Shard's ice beam missed hitting the fast moving Turbokat. T-Bone was careful not to be hit as he had been the first time Shard tried this. He was able to evade the beam smoothly, just as if the Turbokat was a knife slicing through butter.

This annoyed Shard who started to follow the jet trying to take it out. He didn't realize he was being lead back toward the city but by a back way so that he wouldn't destroy anymore property or harm more Kats.

"Looks like T-Bone's plan is working, Uncle." Felina said as she moved her chopper to follow in Shard's wake.

"Let's hope that arrogant SWAT Kat doesn't get his tail froze off in the process." Feral said in reluctant agreement then he called his ground forces. "Sergeant, follow at a discreet distance. That SWAT Kat is trying to lead him to the trap; you keep Shard from changing his mind." Feral ordered.

"Yes sir." The Sergeant acknowledged and soon had the ground forces carefully navigating the icy path Shard was leaving.

The Kats Eye News chopper had just arrived on the scene only to see the Turbokat heading away with Shard following and the Enforcers trail behind. Ann ordered her pilot to follow along as well.

Meanwhile, Razor, along with Dr. Bomby and Dr. Teazer arrived at the Megakat Planetary Observatory after a long cold and icy ride. They stiffly climbed off the modified Sandkat and hurried up the stairs. Dr. Bombay unlocked the main doors that were secured at this hour and led the way into the building.

Razor had grabbed his toolkit off the cat knowing he would have to make some modifications to the telescope. He followed the two she-kats, as they made their way through the main lobby and up to the telescope's work station.

It was totally dark inside and cool; this was required to run the telescope. Razor flicked his helmet light on and lit the way for the she-kats as they walked across the lobby and reached a set of heavy double doors. Dr. Bomby produced a card key and ran it through a reader to the side of the door. A click then a deep clunk was heard as the heavy door opened. They walked into a huge room where the telescope soared overhead. A stair led to the workstations at the rear of the telescope.

Dr. Teazer flicked a switch near the door and the room was dimly lit near the floor and brighter lights illuminated the workstations. She and Dr. Bomby immediately headed for the stairs with Razor trailing behind. He shut off his helmet light and stared up at the telescope in awe. It was a really amazing piece of research equipment, not only to the scientists, but to all the community.

"Wow, impressive…" Razor muttered then turned to the scientists. "So, how do we start this thing?" He asked needing to get started quickly.

"Over here is the main work station for the movement of the telescope, Razor." Dr. Teazer said pointing to the fourth station along the wall. I'll work the cameras at this station..." She said pointing at a station just past the one she'd noted first.

"Okay, let's get started. We don't have much time before Shard will be here." Razor said.

"Right, I'll turn on the computer and type in the coordinates while you and my colleague make the changes to the telescope lens so it works according to our plan." Dr. Bomby agreed as she made for the appropriate work station.

"I'm on it!" Razor said hefting his toolkit and following the other she-kat.

Dr. Teazer led Razor around the circular floor at the base of the telescope until they came to a ladder that led up to the lens area. The telescope was huge and if it wasn't for Dr. Teazer's help, Razor would probably have taken a couple of hours to locate the components that needed to be modified. When they finally arrived to the place where the modifications were to be made, Razor saw the complex mechanism of mirrors and lens that were used to amplify the power of the telescope. Even if the grid of satellites did not work, the telescope itself still had enough gizmos to work on its own.

"So this is where we need to make a few adjustments?" He asked studying the area he needed to work on.

"That's correct, Razor. What we have to do is simple; modify the device where the mirrors and lens are, so that the telescope has enough power to convert the sun's light into one single beam powerful enough to be fired at Shard when the moment is right. Do you think you can do that, while I try to reconnect the main hardware to the safety hardware, so that way when the beam of light is fired, the telescope doesn't explode?" Dr. Teazer asked.

"No problem, doc! We'd better hurry though!" Razor said as he began his work.

As Dr. Teazer, Dr. Bomby, and Razor prepared the telescope for the big showdown with Shard, things were getting a bit hot or cold, as the case may be, for T-Bone and the enforcers.

Shard had just discovered that he could create weapons from his ice body. His first 'toy' was enormous spike balls which he tried to hit the Turbokat with but missed then he turned and threw them at Feral's chopper and the ground forces. He had a small fleet of choppers with him and Shard managed to take out a couple of them.

Feral was left with no option but to use their new heat cannons on the ice giant. It hurt a bit and made Shard mad which nearly blew T-Bone's plan.

Fortunately, he was able to solve the problem by firing a few more missiles at Shard bringing his attention back on the Turbokat.

Smarting and furious, Shard attempted to throw more spiked balls at the Turbokat but T-Bone managed to dodge them. He nearly had the ice Kat enticed to follow him again when Feral blew the plan.

As Shard screamed at T-Bone, Feral gave his enforcers orders to close in and attack the ice Kat with everything they had but held back on the heat cannons as a last resort. He ignored Felina's attempts to warn him that he was ruining the plan to lure Shard toward the observatory.

Shard screamed, "Get away from me you pitiful worms!" He threw a few more spike balls at the enforcer choppers, sending them plunging to the ground and hitting some of their own ground forces.

Feral made matters worse by ordering his men to fire their heat cannons again. They hit Shard in his right arm and a part of his chest. They melted immediately causing Shard to scream for a moment before he managed to regenerate them back again. His eyes gleaming with madness and fury, Shard roared like a horror movie monster of the 1960's.

"Let's see how much you like the taste of my ice beams, enforcers!" He growled.

He fired at a few of the choppers that had gotten too close and froze them solid. They fell like rocks from the sky. T-Bone knew he had to do something. Checking his arsenal, he decided to use the Match-head missiles again to try and distract Shard from his attack on the enforcers. He aimed for Shard's face. When they hit, the ice Kat's face melted completely. This took much longer for Shard to regenerate.

While Shard was preoccupied with recovering, T-Bone decided to check on his partner's progress. "Razor, give me an update on what your progress is?" He asked urgently.

"We're making progress, T-Bone. Dr. Teazer is helping me adjust the telescope for the shot while Dr. Bomby is trying to connect the telescope's software to the appropriate satellite that will allow us to capture the sun's light just right. We'll need a half hour more to get it done." Razor said distractedly as he soldered two wires and connected them to the telescopes main amplifier.

"You might wanna speed things up a little bit, Razor, because I think we don't have another half hour. Shard is learning to control his new powers at an incredible rate, and me and the Enforcers don't know how much longer we can handle him without damaging even more of the city. I've incapacitated him for a short bit but I can see from here he's going to be active again." T-Bone said grimly.

"We're going as fast as we can, buddy. Just hang in there a little longer. I've gotta go! Contact you again as soon as I'm done! Out!" Razor cut the comm. T-Bone sighed as he watched Shard slowly recover and tried to think what they could do next to delay the ice giant.

"Feral!" He called the commander.

"What is it SWAT Kat!" Feral growled as he took stock of the scene and checked how many troops and aircraft he had left at his disposal.

"I've checked in with Razor. He needs at least another half hour to complete the plan. He's working as fast as he can so it's up to us to continue to delay this creep while still leading him toward the observatory." T-Bone explained.

"Oh fun!" Feral growled in disgust.

Meanwhile, the Kat's Eye News helicopter had arrived at the scene just in time for Shard to finally restore his face. He was beyond furious as he fired all kinds of ice weapons at his tormentors. Al the pilot was trying his best to keep high enough to avoid being in the middle of the battle while keeping his passengers safe. This meant many a violent manoeuvre that shook passengers around like beach balls. Mayor Manx was huddling into himself; terrified they would be hit and knocked from the sky. Callie gritted her teeth and held on for dear life. Her heart kept pounding with fear. Ann was doing only a little better than them as her focus was on getting a story more than her own safety. Johnny did his best to keep his camera focused on the action going on below him but the bouncing was making it nearly impossible.

"This is Ann Gora, Kat's Eye News, reporting live from the air. Just hours ago, Rex Shard had tried to kill Mayor Manx and Deputy Mayor Briggs at the scientific convention being held in the Megakat Tower. When guards tried to stop him, he was accidentally struck by a beam from an invention that turned him into a huge icy giant. He's destroyed the Megakat Tower, froze a large portion of the city leading away from the tower and parts of the Megakat River. At the moment he is attacking the enforcers and the SWAT Kats who are trying to stop his rampage." Ann reported as Johnny did his best to record the battle below them.

"Ann, we'd better get out of here. That monster is getting more dangerous by the minute. If we stay here, we might get hit by one of those ice balls that he's throwing against the Enforcers." Al warned her urgently.

His warning came too late as a stray spike ball that missed an enforcer chopper came hurtling toward them taking their rear rotor out. The helicopter spun out of control as it began it plunge toward the ground.

Mayor Manx, Callie, and Ann screamed while Al and Johnny clung for dear life.

"Hang on, everyone! Prepare yourselves for impact!" Al yelled at them.

It seemed that this time, nothing could save them from crashing into the ground.


End file.
